ARMED FORCES CRIMINAL DEFENCE
A charge doesn’t just go to court. It goes to your unit
For a serving person, the sentence is rarely the worst of it. Administrative action, security clearance, promotion and your career can all turn on how the case is handled from the first hour. We are twenty minutes from HMNB Clyde (Faslane) and we act quickly, privately and discreetly
THE SITUATION YOU’RE IN
What is actually at stake
If you are charged with an offence in Scotland, you have two problems, and most solicitors will only deal with one of them.
The first is the criminal case: the police interview, the plea, the trial, the sentence. The second is what happens afterwards inside the Service — administrative action, a career review, a re-examination of your security clearance, the effect on promotion, deployment and overseas travel, and in serious cases your continued employment altogether.
The two are connected. Decisions taken in the criminal case, sometimes in the first hour, determine what the Service is later looking at. A defence run without any thought for the second problem can win the first and still end a career.
We approach these cases with both in view from the outset.
EARLY ACTIONS
The first decisions that matter most
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If you are detained or invited to attend a voluntary interview, usually at the local police station at Clydebank, you are entitled to speak to a solicitor first, and to have one present. That right is worth exercising even when — especially when — you believe the matter is a misunderstanding that will clear itself up.
What you say at interview is very difficult to undo. An account given without advice, intending to be helpful, is the single most common reason a defensible case becomes an indefensible one.
Call us before the interview, whatever the hour. There is no charge for that first conversation.
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Offences committed off base and off duty in Scotland are generally investigated by Police Scotland and prosecuted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the Sheriff Court or Justice of the Peace Court. Service offences are dealt with under the service justice system.
Where both could take an interest, there are arrangements for deciding which authority proceeds. That decision matters to you, and it is not always made in the way you would expect or would prefer.
We will explain which system you are in, what that means, and what is likely to follow in the other.
COMMON SERVICES
The work we do most
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Drink driving and drug driving. Disproportionately damaging for service personnel. A disqualification can remove you from a role that requires a licence, and the conviction is reportable.
Assault. Frequently arising from a night out in Helensburgh, and on CCTV with competing accounts, and frequently defensible.
Domestic allegations. Handled seriously by the courts and severely by the Service. Bail conditions can exclude you from your own quarter overnight, with immediate consequences for your accommodation, your PStat Cat and contact with your children. These cases need a solicitor from the first appearance, not the trial diet.
Controlled substances. Approached with zero tolerance internally regardless of the criminal outcome. Early advice is essential.
Sexual offences. Serious, sensitive and career-defining. We act in these cases with the discretion they require.
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The Procurator Fiscal may offer a fiscal fine, a fiscal work order, a warning or a compensation offer instead of prosecuting.
Accepting one can feel like the easy way out. It ends the court case, costs comparatively little, and is not a conviction.
But it is not nothing. There may be a record of it, and depending on your circumstances it may be something you have to disclose — including for vetting purposes. Do not accept an offer of this kind without advice, and do not assume that ignoring the paperwork makes it go away, because it usually does the opposite.
This is one of the most common and most avoidable mistakes we see service personnel make.
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A charge or a conviction can trigger a review of your clearance and administrative action within your chain of command, separately from anything the court does.
We can advise on how the criminal process interacts with that, help you understand what will be reportable and when, and make sure that what emerges from the court — the terms of a plea, the findings, the sentence — is framed as favourably as the facts allow, because that record is what your Service will be reading.
FEES
Why private, and why us
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Legal aid is means tested, and many serving personnel either do not qualify or face a significant contribution. Where you are paying anyway, you should be paying for the right thing
Instructing us privately buys you three things: speed, seniority and discretion. Every case is led and supervised by Jonathan Paul personally, with more than twenty-five years in criminal defence. Fees are agreed in writing before work begins. Appointments can be taken at our office, by video, or outside normal hours to fit a duty pattern. Nothing is discussed with anyone in your chain of command unless you instruct us to.
FAQ’S
Question? We have answers
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Yes. "Voluntary" describes how you attend, not how the interview is used.
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Reporting obligations apply, and getting the timing and the content right matters. Speak to us before you make that report.
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Not necessarily, and how the case is handled makes a real difference. We would rather give you an honest assessment early than a reassuring one now.
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Not without advice. See above — it is rarely as consequence-free as it appears.
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Speak to us and we will tell you plainly what we can do and, where appropriate, refer you to a specialist.
CONTACT US TODAY
Call before the interview, not after it
01389 756785. Jonathan Paul Solicitors · 102 Main Street, Alexandria · acting for clients in courts across Scotland.
GET IN TOUCH
Let's talk about your case
A confidential first conversation, at no obligation. Tell us what's happened — we'll tell you exactly where you stand and what happens next.
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HOURS
Monday-Thursday 9am - 5pm | Friday 9am - 4pm